Thursday, October 21, 2004
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TOMORROW:
One-hundredfourteen years ofeditordfreedom
www.michzigandady.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXV, No. 15 ©2004 The Michigan Daily
Greeks take
tougher stand
against hazing
University, city police continue to
investigate allegations of Rush abuses
By Melissa Benton
Daily Staff Reporter
Officials in the Greek community have
pledged to crack down on hazing, after Uni-
versity administrators announced they are
looking into hazing allegations against at least
seven chapters.
"We're going to be a lot harsher about haz-
ing this year. I was irritated at a few of (the
houses) about how blatant they were," said
LSA sophomore Bryce Bach, who is head of
the Greek community's Hazing Taskforce.
Bach said all of the allegations are being inves-
tigated, but the more serious ones have been
taken over by the Ann Arbor Police Depart-
ment because of the new anti-hazing state law
passed in August.
Offenders of the law can face misdemeanor
charges when hazing causes physical injury, or
felony charges if hazing leads to serious bodily
impairment or death.
"We have been informed of a number of
incidents on campus involving fraternities and
sororities," said Lt. Chris Heatley, the coordi-
nating detective investigating the allegations
at AAPD.
Heatley was unable to comment on the spe-
cific fraternities and sororities involved, but
said AAPD does not have evidence of any
criminal activity at this point.
"We're trying to determine if anything hap-
pened and the important thing that gets stressed
out of this exercise is that AAPD is working
with the Department of Public Safety. ... We're
taking.it very seriously," Heatley said.
DPS spokeswoman Diane Brown confirmed
that the University police force is working
with AAPD "to find out what the scope of the
issue is.
DPS discovered the hazing allegations while
arresting students on campus for illegal activ-
ity. "DPS started to realize that perhaps their
state of drunkenness was related to pledging
activity," Brown said.
Some of the allegations include students
being forced to consume large amounts of
alcohol, paddling and clothes being ripped off
sorority pledges.
There is a difference between someone who
vandalizes property because they're drunk and
someone who vandalizes property because some-
one else told them they had to, Brown added.
Although it is still early in the investigation,
Brown said somewhere between five and 10
See HAZING, Page T7A
EUGENE ROBERTSO~N/Daily
Interfraternity Council President Casey Bourke holds up anti-hazing legislation at last night's IFC meeting in the Michigan
Union, as Vice President of Internal Affairs Jon Anderson, far left, and Vice President of Recruitment Kevin Mulvaney look on.
Binge drinking rampant in hazing allegations
By Emily Kraack
Daily News Editor
Although details are still vague about
alleged hazing of fraternity and sorority
pledges, one thing is certain: Alcohol played a
big part in all incidents currently under inves-
tigation.
Interim Dean of Students Susan Eklund
said alcohol was a factor in the so-called haz-
ing incidents. "Virtually all of those situations
had extreme misuse of alcohol," she said. She
added that some reports of hazing incidents
included pledges drinking in excess of 15
shots of alcohol and two to three beers.
The Greek system does not allow alcohol
during Rush activities, so giving alcohol to
pledges would violate its rules as well as laws
as well as laws against providing alcohol to
minors.
University administrators say one of the
reasons for taking quick actions to investigate
the allegations is the very real fear that a com-
bination of alcohol and hazing could result
in serious injury. Last fall at the Sigma Chi
fraternity, Kinesiology junior Evan Loomis
suffered kidney failure after participating in
hazing activities.
Ekund and University spokeswoman Julie
Peterson pointed out that, even in the absence
of hazing activities, drinking amounts of alco-
hol as high as those allegedly consumed by
hazed pledges this fall can be deadly. Peterson
pointed to the death of LSA freshman Court-
ney Cantor in 1998, in which Cantor attended
a fraternity party, engaged in heavy drinking
25 percent of University students report they binge
drink frequently in 2003.
and later that evening fell out of her residence
hall window and died.
Byung-Soo Kim, an Engineering sopho-
more, also died in November 2000 after
attempting to consume 21 shots on his 21st
birthday. Friends called the Department of
Public Safety after they became concerned
that he did not appear to be breathing.
Eklund stressed that the University's aim
is not to completely halt drinking activities;
instead, she said the focus of Division of Stu-
dent Affairs officials is preventing harm to
students.
See ALCOHOL, Page 7A
ELECTIONS '04
'Candidates pitch plans
for affordable tuition
By Donn M. Fresard
Daily Staff Reporter
With Iraq, jobs and taxes dominating politi-
cal discourse in the final weeks of the presi-
dential campaign, some college students and
families may not have noticed the results of a
College Board tuition survey released yester-
day: Tuition at U.S. public universities rose an
average of 10.5 percent this year.
That figure is the second-highest in the past
decade, behind last year's 13 percent increase.
As a result, the presidential candidates'
higher education plans, all but ignored in stump
speeches and debates recently, may become
even more important for determining the future
of college costs. President Bush and Democratic
challenger John Kerry each have proposals to
make college more affordable, and their plans
differ significantly.
Bush's higher education proposals consist
mostly of increases in funding for student loans
and the Pell grant pro-
gram - currently the
federal government's How they
main outlet of finan-
cialaid forlow-income Keny's and Bus
college students. proposais
Since Bush took
office, the number of Proposals to in
Pell grants awarded programs are cen
per year has increased
from 3.9 to 5.1 mil- U A national serv
lion. The president has lege tuition for stu
said he will increase time for two years
the maximum size of
Pell grants by $1,000,
bringing the top award to $5,050.
However, Bush pledged during his 2000
presidential campaign to increase the maximum
y
sh
icr
tr
Vic
:ud
's i
grant to $5,100; during the first year of his presi-
dency the maximum increased from $3,300 to
$4,050, but it has
remained frozen
differ at that amount
for three years.
1's higher education Bush has
also proposed
increasing stu-
rease the Pell grant dent loan limits
al to Bush's plan from $2,625 to
$3,000 for first-
ce plan to pay full col- year students
dents who work full- and allocating
is part of Kerry's plan more money to
community col-
leges.
Kerry's plans for higher education are in
many ways more ambitious. He has proposed
See HIGHER ED, Page 7A
Students to monitor against
tion at polling sites
The Boston Red Sox celebrate after defeating the New York Yankees 10-3 in Game 7 of the
American League Championship Series last night.
o make sports history
with winMagaistYees
By Michael Kan
Daily Staff Reporter
Breaking down what they call the barri-
er of voter discrimination, student groups
of the University's Asian American com-
munity plan to send student volunteers to
monitor polling sites on election day.
will be a host of voter monitoring in
this year's election, the Asian American
groups' focus is on the failure of polling
institutions to accommodate minority
voters, said the law association's political
action chair Amrita Mallik.
"Historically, Asians have faced dis-
crimination at the polls. Traditionally
was a number of voters who received
discrimination as a result of Sept. 11,"
she said.
Past reports of discrimination include
incorrect translations of ballots for non-
English speakers, which mislabeled the
Democratic candidates as Republican
and vice-versa, said Fung. Other cases
inrl-.1rl Arnh vr~narc havigto n nlur.
NEW YORK (AP) -Believe it - the Boston Red
Sox are in the World Series. They got there with the
most unbelievable comeback of all, with four sweet
ewx inocftPact'if iPrA Cnfrleea h mn the lewu X'rlr
There is no torture this time, no hour of humilia-
tion. Better yet for Boston fans, it's the Yankees who
are left to suffer the memory of a historic collapse.
"i'svrv amazing-" Red Sox vmanage~r Terrv Fran-
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